International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)

The International Hydrographic Organization is an intergovernmental organization established in 1921 to promote the safety of marine navigation and the protection of the marine environment. Currently IHO has 74 maritime nations participating as members.

Their objectives (listed on the IHO web site) are to bring about:

• The coordination of the activities of national hydrographic offices;
• The greatest possible uniformity in nautical charts and documents;
• The adoption of reliable and efficient methods of carrying out and exploiting hydrographic surveys;
• The development of the sciences in the field of hydrography and the techniques employed in descriptive oceanography.